Coffee roaster



Dec. 25, 1934. J, FITZGERALD 1,985,604

COFFEE ROASTER Filed Dec. 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Faimcklfutz Er 51d Dec. 25, 1934. P, J HTZGERALD 1,985,604

COFFEE ROASTER Filed Dec. 6, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Fairukjfniz ElEI" Elli.

Patented Dec. 25, 1934 v 1,985,604

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,985,604 oo'FFEE ROASTER.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Torrington, Conn, assignor to The Fitzgerald Mfg. Company, Torrington, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 6,, 1932, Serial No. 645,9311

,3 Claims. (Gl. 34-23) This invention relates to a. roaster and par- The power unit here shown is provided with ticularly to a roaster for household use and a base 11 having an upright standard 12, a motor adapted to be connected with a power unit for 13 pivotally mounted at 14, and a motor gear gently agitating the material to be roasted. casing having a 0011s! 18 ed e a The roaster is shown applied to the electrical surrounding a coupling 1 i al W th h shaft 5 utility device shown and described in my appli- 0f t P w r unit and p d With a socketcation for United States Letters Patent filed April This collar is p v d W o g pins 19 and 12, 1932, Serial No. 604,844. a sleeve 21 on the bottom of the roaster is pro- It has been found that with most roasting v d d w th ay t s ts 22 w i in p machines a portion of the material frequently i n w h aid p n l c h r a r it r idly 10 remains in contact with the roasting plate a sufiibut remevebly to said power unitcient length of time to scorch or burn the same, h easing 23 is divided into three be and while in roasting machines classified as com e lower 24 being the Operating c a sm poppers, the action of the c m itself t nd t chamber, the intermediate 26 being the heating keep the .material in motion, such is not the case m n h upp 27 ein he ma er al 15 where cofiee is being roasted, and as the roaster roasting chambercontemplated is primarily. for the purpose of the The lower chamber as a sti up 2 ast d domestic roasting of cofiee, means have been int0 the bottom of the casing, and t st p a corporated for insuring the constant movement h bottom of the casing provide means for of the coffee grains during the roastin operation cating bearings for a coupling stem 29, the lower 20 The object of this invention is to provide a end of Which is p d With t power shaft in roaster in the form of an accessory to be applied any approved manner- As for in a as shown to a household power unit for efiiciently roasting it extends into t socket 0f the Coupling 17 coffee and the like. 7 of the power unit and is secured therein to rotate According to the invention, th a t therewith by the slots 17 which are formed 25 prises a casing, a heating element, a metallic in the end of the Coupling 1 and h Wings 2 roasting plate above said heating element, a per= formed upon the S forated disk above the roasting plate and form- This stem a a toothed portion 31 meshing ing the bottom of the receptacle in which the h e large gear 32 pe a o a Centrally material to be roasted is placed, and means gently P d shaft in bearings fastened in the bottom 30 rotating for intermittently raising all the material plate and up, d S S a extends pw in said receptacle from the surface of the disk. through t heating b r d terminates in The drawings illustrate an embodiment of the h roasting chamber. The heating chamber invention and the views therein are as follows: 26 is h y lar r than th p ra meeha- Figure 1 is a, side elgation of my improved nism chamber 24, there being an annular flange 35 roaster applied to the power uhit of the applica- 33 between the a a O this flange there is tion above identified, a metal plate 34 forming a floor for the heating Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the e1ement36- roaster fragmentarily showing a portion of the This heating element may be of any approved power unit and the means for coupling the roaster type and in t e Pte t instance, is shown eohsist- 40 therewith, ing of insulation disks 37 and refractory material Figure 3 is a top plan view of the roaster with 38 having electrical heating coils 39 which are the cover removed, connected to a source of current through the Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken socket 41. on the line 4--4 of Figure 2, Another annular flange 42 enlarges the roasting 45 Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of chamber, and on this flange there is a metallic the upper portion of the shaft and associated as plate 3- his plate s fixedly secured parts, and shows the agitator in unlocked position h o e nula flange and, t P on the shaft, manently confines the heating element in its Figure 6 is a like fragmentary view showing e amb r- 50 the agitator locked to the shaft, This roasting plate has a hexagonal hub 44 with Figure '7 is a sectional view showing the cona reduced hollow sleeve 46 which passes down nection of the roaster element to the driving elethrough the roasting plate 43 and through a ment and the protecting sleeve in diametrical metallic washer 47, and is swaged outwardly to sectiom lock said parts together. The hub 44 fits over 55 the shaft 30, but the shaft is free to rotate therein.

Above the roasting plate 43 is a perforated disk 48 which has lugs 49 on the lower face of the same and disposed around the periphery thereof for positioning said disk slightly above said roasting plate. The center of the disk is punched to provide a hexagonal opening 51 and the material along the four sides of said hexagonal opening is bent downwardly, as at 52, to form supports for holding said disk in spaced relation from said roasting plate, while the metal of two diametrically opposed sides is pressed upwardly and outwardly, as at 53, to provide finger gripping portions for removing said disk from said shaft and said roasting chamber. I

The upper end of said shaft is provided with a flat side 54 which has a groove 56 at the bottom of the same extending opposite to the direction of rotation of said shaft. This flat portion of the shaft provides means for permitting the end of the screw 5'7 in the hub 58 of an agitator 59 to pass down to the bottom of said flat portion, so that when the hub is revolved in a direction contrary to the direction of rotation of said shaft, the end of said screw will pass into the groove'56, as shown in Figure 6, and the agitator hub will, therefore, be locked against the rotation of said shaft and prevent it from accidental dislodgment by the material being acted upon.

This agitator is formed as follows:

The hub 58 has a reduced lower portion and onto which agitating wings or blades 61 are a tached by a central hole thereon, and said reduced end then passes down through the opening of a truncated hollow cone member 62, where the outer end of said reduced portion is spread out annularly as at 63 to securely lock the parts together.

fhe wings or blades of the agitator are provided with a horizontal part 64 on the side which first engages the material in the receptacle.

This horizontal portion terminates in an inclined portion 66 which terminates in an upneeaeoe wardly tapered portion 67. The shape of the wing or blade is such that the forward or horizontal portion raises all the material with which it comes in contact from the disk 48 and the material passes up over the other portions of said blades and again falls onto said perforated plate in a changed position.

These blades cover the entire diameter of the perforated disk and when in operation, they raise all the material intermittently therefrom, therefore insuring against the burning or scorching of particles of the material in the roasting chamber.

The casing is provided with handles 68 and with a lid 69 having a central knob 71.

Of course, the roaster illustrated may be modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein set forth and hereafter claimed.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A roaster comprising a casing having a heating unit and an agitator shaft therein, a power shaft, coupling means on said roaster for connecting said agitator shaft to said power shaft, reduction gears between said agitator shaft and coupling, a support, and a coupling surrounding said power shaft for connecting and supporting said casing to said support.

2. A roaster comprising a casing having a heating unit and an agitator shaft therein, a power shaft, incasing coupling means on said roaster for connecting said agitator shaft to said power shaft, reduction gears between said agitator shaft and coupling, a support, and a coupling surrounding said power shaft for connecting and supporting said casing to said support.

3. A roaster comprising a casing having a heating unit and an agitator shaft therein, a power shaft, coupling means on said roaster for connecting said agitator shaft to said power shaft, reduction gears between said agitator shaft and coupling, a support, and a. slip coupling surrounding said power shaft for connecting and supporting said casing to said support.

PATRECK J. MTZGERALD. 

